There's no Hockey in Ireland! THINK AGAIN!

The Flying Ducks have just completed another busy weekend of hockey in their 2 temporary Dublin ice rink homes (Ice Skating Blanchardstown and South Dublin on Ice). This might be surprising to some who are unaware that ice hockey is actively played in Ireland.

The Flying Ducks played the Cork Wolfpack at Ice Skating Blanchardstown on Saturday 6th of January from 7 to 10am. Some players left Cork City at 3am and some of our Ducks left Athlone at 4.30am; now THAT is dedication. We had games for our Under 12, 14 and 18 teams. We were fortunate to win well in the Under 12 and 14s but the premier game, the Under 18s, was an end to end affair. After ending 5-5 the Cork Wolfpack took the win with 3 goals to 2 in a penalty shoot-out.

On Sunday 7th of January, it was our second home in South Dublin on Ice. Here we took on Kilkenny City Storm. The Storm were strong throughout the games and won well. The Under 10/Learn to Play game at the end proved to be very entertaining and deserving of the final game on the ice. The spirit of the game was outstanding with scorelines having no place in this game.

The games on Saturday were officiated by Irish Ice Hockey Association President, Aaron Guli, and Sunday's games by the IIHA Referee in Chief, and Elite League Linesman, Mr Vytautas Lukosevicius. Thank you Aaron and Vytas.

IIHA Saints heading to Korea

The Irish Ice Hockey Association (IIHA) Under 12 Junior Development Team, The Saints, will be heading to Korea to take part in the inaugural 2018 Commemorative Imjin-Pyeongchang International Youth Ice Hockey Tournament from 18-21 January 2018.

The tournament was organised with the support of the Office of the Honorable Senator Yonah Martin, (Leader of the Opposition in the Canadian Senate) and the Canadian Embassy in Seoul, the tournament will commemorate the 65th anniversary of the end of the Korean War while also saluting the holding of the XXIII Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea in February 2018.

The tournament is being organised by dear our friends Somang Hockey, based in Terrebone, Canada. Since its inception in 2014, Somang Hockey has focused on organising international hockey-related events all over the World, as well as developing the next generation of hockey players from all corners of the ever-widening hockey playing planet.

The Flying Ducks are so proud to see that a number of our players have been selected to represent their country in this pre-olympic event.

Mark Murphy’s heading to the Home of Hockey

Mark Murphy, one of our very own players, is heading to the Home of Hockey, Canada, for 1 year. Mark, 16, will be heading to Montreal, a city he visited earlier in 2017 when the Flying Ducks team visited the city with almost 50 people. Mark had arrived in advance of the team’s arrival on St Patrick’s Day where he was living the life of a Canadian hockey player. Mark also didn’t neglect his schooling. He attended a local school (North Star Academy, in Laval) and developed wonderful relationships with not only his teammates from Somang Hockey but also his school mates; many of whom were saddened to see him depart in late March.

Mark started skating in Skate parks when he was 9 year’s old because he had some problems with his feet. His tendons weren’t growing so the doctors advised he try roller skating to help to stretch them. Fantastic advice.Mark’s sister, Kerri, was doing figure skating at Castleknock on Ice, and one morning he was asked by Aisling Daly, President of the Flying Ducks Ice Hockey Club, to try Ice hockey. Mark loved it from the start. He showed a decent skill level for a first timer. Mark had tried Soccer, Gaelic football and hurling but never kept any real interest. “Mark loves being on ice and he sometimes gets a bit passionate about the game” said his proud dad, Darren. Mark’s passion is what drives him and greatly benefits his abilities. Mark loves learning about the game and passing on what he learns to his teammates in the Flying Ducks, particularly the junior players. Aisling commented that, "Mark is a talented and passionate player who will make a fantastic impact on the world of Irish Ice Hockey given the chance".

Prime Minister Trudeau made a point of commenting on the visit of our team to Montreal in March this year for our 10-day hockey trip which included an opportunity to take part in the St Patrick's Day parade in front of over 500,000 people. The team got to meet PM Trudeau and Lord Mayor of Montreal Denis Coderre in Montreal thanks to the huge efforts by our colleagues in the United Irish Societies of Montreal. He commented on the fact that the Irish and Canadians have a lot in common and that the children are our future. How right he is. Our Flying Ducks players got to live with their Canadian host families and live the Canadian life. It was truly life changing stuff. Our hosts were coordinated through our dear friends at Somang Hockey. An article in the Summer 2017 edition of Celtic Canada's magazine has a big article about the trip; it's well worth a read.